Naval History Forums

It's quite possible that the shell detonated low order. What appears to be the entrance hole is fairly clear -- I looked for it in 2001, and probably found it. I was able to inspect it again on the James Cameron tapes. The position and condition of the exit hole is somewhat less clear; although I do...

In general one tends to find little of real combat value in the bow sections of a battleship, i.e. in those sections forward of the foremost turret, less some anchor handling equipment. Occasionally, one also finds some fuel and paint stores in that area, which might constitute a minor hazard if ign...

Comments to the effect that I am 'coming out to play' and or am 'now engaged' are entirely false. Honestly, I see little to no point in further pursuing this hull strength 'discussion' -- if that is indeed the appropriate word -- particularly when my repeated attempts at explanation at are clearly f...

The sometimes somewhat negative replies to my assessment of Bismarck as being somewhat lightly constructed with comparison to her contemporaries suggested that I should check some figures to see if they matched my intuition. Here, from a variety of sources and rounded to the nearest percent, are the...

Regarding Bismarck's construction, I can assure readers that no mirth or sarcasm, etc. was intended. I have been fortunate to have been able to visit and tour virtually all of the battleships still extant, have viewed a very large number of drawings of Bismarck and have also been extremely fortunate...

Dave Saxton has, I think, done an excellent job in summarizing the situation just prior to and during the war. I've seen no better nor more accurate summary anywhere. To Javier and Ulrich: The impact speed is indeed taken to be about 20 mph, but as studies of sinking objects (albeit much smaller tha...

I think that the problem revolving around differences in record keeping and record survival is a real one. It's likely, for example, that Japanese shipbuilders experienced welding failures too, but it's unlikely that many of the records of those failures now survives or is reasonably accessible to E...

This topic seems -- either intentionally or accidentally -- to have be been diverted from a discussion regarding the design of stern joints on Bismarck to some sort of general investigation into the performance of USN designed hulls in typhoons, etc. There is really very little relationship here, an...

I would concur entirely with your observation. I might not have made myself entirely clear. My reference to green water was intended to refer to aircraft carriers only, where overhanging flight decks forward were in some cases pushed well out of alignment due to green water coming over the bows. Col...

In very brief summary, the loss of Pittsburgh's bow was attributed to a discontinuity in structural characteristics -- as I recall the keel aft of the break point was rivetted and the keel forward of the break point was welded -- and also due to poor quality welding and perhaps lack of maintenance a...

I have been following this thread a bit and may be able to add some material of value. I am fortunate to have on file a complete set of USN WWII War Damage Reports, including the reports covering most of the cases where USN ships lost or suffered a heavily damaged bow. I also have complete Booklets ...

I will reply only briefly to what I see as a rather agressive and invective-filled memo. a) If the 'aft framing plans' are indeed in the National Archives, I have almost certainly seen them, and quite probably have copies on microfilm. You must remember that this "Bismarck stuff" is really just a so...

I feel like I am being cross-examined. Since you asked direct questions, I will provide direct answers, preceeded by asterisks ***. Bill: It was less than 2 years ago that we secured the actual plans of the Bismarck's modular stern and we still do not have the framing diagrams. Ergo, please tell me ...

The welded joint design securing the stern of Bismarck was, if not poorly executed, certainly poorly designed, almost sophmoric. Bill Garzke and I dealt with this issue in some detail in a paper delivered to the Chesapeake section of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers a couple of y...

Well. Perhaps I spoke too soon. This certainly seems to represent an impressive reading list, and suggests that the author did indeed do a good deal of homework. Unfortunately, as you noted, he did miss out on any of the James Cameron material -- I have not really commented on that very extensively ...